Hernandez was named the 2026 Empire 8 Men’s Tennis Championship Most Valuable Player after leading the West No. 1 Cardinals to their first ever Empire 8 Championship. Hernandez began the weekend by rolling to a 6-2, 6-0 win over Jaxson Redmond of Norwich University in the semifinals at first singles, as the Cardinals earned a 4-0 win. He then defeated Ricardo Alvarez Janik at first singles in the championship match by a score of 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) to give the Cardinals a key point in the 4-3 victory for the title. It is his fourth E8 weekly honor of the 2026 season.